Child Development

Getting accustomed to high altitudes that is acclimatization is one of the most significant things when you are travelling to Ladakh or any high altitude terrain. Tourists and other visitors might suffer from headaches, dizziness and Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS without proper acclimatization.

Our children, born to this chaotic world, do need similar acclimatization period. First 6 years of life are naturally designed for local acclimatization at home.Learning customs, inviting and getting bath in local microbial seas, receiving lots of love from family members, neighbors and mother nature.

Instead, what do we do?

We bombard stress!

Don’t stress too much for first 6 years! Let them be in flow first!! Play – is the only activity they need! If they love singing, allow them to sing! Dance. If they really really really love alphabets, then only alphabets! No force, only flow!

I liked movie ‘Inception’ very much for its recursive multi layered story telling. With each layer within layer, mind opens up new avenues. It is endurance exercise for the mind like how you swim or run marathon for physical body.

We have rich history of such recursive events in Maha kavya(s).

For Example Bhagwad Gita – In the periphery, it is Ved Vyasa narrating Mahabharata to Ganesh ji. The outer layer is conversation between Bhagwan Ved Vyas and Janmejaya. The inner conversation is between Dhritrashtra and Sanjaya. And the core is between Krishna and Arjun. Within each layer, time slows down. Within each word, there is depth of infinity!

we were the first to invent recursive stories, powerful enough to alter brain circuits, helping curing mental diseases and keeping humans on the path of dharma!

Dharma upadesa in plain dry dull sermons and vs Dharma upadesa by recursive Maha kavya(s) and Purana(s). Makes a lot of difference in activating brain circuits and preparing it for the actions as per dharma narrated.

I suggest, Ramayana and Mahabharata recitation should be part of daily chores. It is potent therapeutic help for growing minds at home i.e. Children.

Even reading silently is not worth. Speak up! Recite! Let there be संवाद!! Let your brains connect with each other and activate dharma circuits in brain so that mind can drive it for dharmic actions!! 🙂

Research

Storytelling Is The Ultimate Weapon

Guber argues that humans simply aren’t moved to action by “data dumps,” dense PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets packed with figures. People are moved by emotion. The best way to emotionally connect other people to our agenda begins with “Once upon a time…”

What is going on here? Why are we putty in a storyteller’s hands? The psychologists Melanie Green and Tim Brock argue that entering fictional worlds “radically alters the way information is processed.” Green and Brock’s studies shows that the more absorbed readers are in a story, the more the story changes them. Highly absorbed readers also detected significantly fewer “false notes” in stories–inaccuracies, missteps–than less transported readers. Importantly, it is not just that highly absorbed readers detected the false notes and didn’t care about them (as when we watch a pleasurably idiotic action film). They were unable to detect the false notes in the first place.

This is the reason we have सीमन्तोन्नयन Samskar. Once the pregnant lady crosses 6th or 7th month, she becomes अगृहिणी (Temporary relief from household chores) and stops worrying about her duties towards family. No one then gives her any responsibility.

Up to सीमन्तोन्नयन Samskar, pregnant mother lives routine life as गृहिणी and she takes care home as head of the family. After सीमन्तोन्नयन samskar, mother becomes अगृहिणी and relieves from daily chores. Generally, this samskar is performed around 6 or 7th month. Last 2-3 months are critical for brain and mind development. This is the time when pregnant mother must live stress-free life.

Stress-free life -> Rich Gut bacteria -> Rich brain formation for fetus
Now slap all dumb driven cattle who debate with you that dharmic rituals are useless.

Becoming अगृहिणी plays CRITICAL role in development of healthy brain and gut for newborn.
Same role is played by breast-feeding.
For reference, read article shared in comment.

Hint: Ideal stress-free life is possible when you live with mother i.e. Pregnant’s mother and/or mother nature. Farm life. Jungle life. Mother’s home.

If you are pregnant or expecting soon, take care! No stress of whatsoever!! Even if a building collapses in front of you, smile! 🙂 Develop that level of intolerance towards stress. 🙂

Research

Pregnant mother’s stress affects baby’s gut and brain

Pregnant women may pass on the effects of stress to their fetus by way of bacterial changes in their vagina, suggests a study in mice. It may affect how well their baby’s brain is equipped to deal with stress in adulthood.

The bacteria in our body outnumber our own cells by about 10 to 1, with most of them found in our gut. Over the last few years, it has become clear that the bacterial ecosystem in our body – our microbiome – is essential for developing and maintaining a healthy immune system.

Our gut bugs also help to prevent germs from invading our bodies, and help to absorb nutrients from food.

A baby gets its first major dose of bacteria in life as it passes through its mother’s birth canal. En route, the baby ingests the mother’s vaginal microbes, which begin to colonise the newborn’s gut.

Chris Howerton, then at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and his colleagues wanted to know if this initial population of bacteria is important in shaping a baby’s neurological development, and whether that population is influenced by stress during pregnancy.

Stressful pregnancy

The first step was to figure out what features of the mother’s vaginal microbiome might be altered by stress, and then see if any of those changes were transmitted to the offspring’s gut.

To do this, the team exposed 10 pregnant mice to a different psychologically stressful experience, such as exposing them to fox odour, keeping their cages lit at night, or temporarily restraining them every day for what would be the equivalent of the first trimester of their pregnancy. Another 10 pregnant mice were housed normally during the same time.

The team took samples of their vaginal bacteria throughout the pregnancy and again just after the mice had given birth. These samples were genetically sequenced to see what types of bacteria were present.

The microbiomes of the stressed mice were remarkably different to those of the unstressed mice after they had each given birth. There were more types of bacteria present, and the proportion of one common gut bacteria, Lactobacillus, was significantly reduced.

And then, the pill generation rely upon pills as solution for mental disorders!

Many children of 21st century suffer from poor concentration, hyperactivity, and learning difficulties. Modern medicine declare it as disorder! Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder! ADHD! 🙂

These all symptoms are more related to mind than body. Food also play role but supporting role. Problem is with environment children receive as legacy. Stressed parents, family infighting, toxic food, polluted air, polluted homes, lack of love reciprocated by parents and over-use of technology and screens at home – these are some root causes I found around.

And as you read root causes, solutions are very simple.
But what do children get from doctors?

More chemicals! Ritalin is a popular name of this neurotic drug!
Read the side-effects! Avoid it! Save your kid from further mental trauma! Provide better environment and see the magic!

Read this to realize side effects of CNS stimulant!!

Research

Ritalin Side effects

Domestic violence at home, quarrel in front of kids, verbal shouting on phone – they all shape your kid’s mental sphere. Avoid all severe verbal exchanges! Not even when kids are sleeping! Not even when they are at school! They are intelligent and sensitive enough to detect and grasp family stress! And when it goes beyond kid’s stress handling capacity, they fall sick.

And forget scolding kids below 10! They are not mature enough for you so called disciplined life!

Once you are parent, you must make sure cheerful and healthy home environment! 🙂 I have seen many parents of my age utterly careless about this.

Watch your words and actions in front of kids below 12! Does not matter, your kid or anyone’s. No violence.

UC biology study suggests a father’s nutrition before sex could contribute to the health of his offspring.

When I read research like this, I envision all zombies around in their 20s and 30s giving birth to life accidentally, without preparation and any conscious efforts.

Under the toxic influence of modern life style, most youth in their 20s and 30s (it starts very early now in teen age) are indulged in binge life style. Party harder and harder! They really don’t have even pinch of realization what they will gift to all future generations!

Despite all of this chaos, we do have some good progeny. All thanks to God’s blessings, parents’ blessings and some Good karma. But they don’t go on forever. Come next generation and the situation will be worse. In fact, we do see rising cases of deformities, both physical and mental, more of a mental, in young kids.

Research title might talk about father’s nutrition before sex but that is not the only point in time that would-be father should think about diet before family planning!!

It starts well syncing self with seasons. Few days back, I shared this on facebook which covers the family planning essence very well.

This cycle shifts and delayed as you move away from tropical i.e. देवभूमि भारत. Basically, identify spring (most creative and active patch of the year) in your part of the world. Go back in past for 6 months and start purification procedures before you plan for a child.

Family planning is most critical activity for any Grihastha. All life-tasks come as second priority. Top most priority. If you are already parents, don’t repent. Educate your kids in their teen age. Groom them so that they always follow seasonal changes.

Each season mentioned above has specific diet. Learn about it and follow it. Besides, make sure your thoughts and actions are always in sync while mind is impregnated by the thought of having child.

While female is deemed pregnant after conception, male partner remains pregnant for 9 months before conception (sperms become mature in 72 days. Before it, some period is needed for cleansing of the would-be father’s body).

So if you are planning for child, start focusing on right diet for at least 9 months before you meet your partner for child.

Pregnancy begins from the thought of having child to delivery of the child. At least 18 months. 9 months for male partner’s preparation and 9 months of mother’s nurturing.

Meanwhile, do read below interesting research. A baby step of modern science to understand role of Father in progeny planning.

You are what your dad eats

http://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/fruitfly.html

UC biology study suggests a father’s nutrition before sex could contribute to the health of his offspring.

Doctors long have stressed the importance of good nutrition for expectant mothers.

Now biologists at the University of Cincinnati say the father’s diet could play a similar role in the health of a baby.

UC biology professors Michal Polak and Joshua Benoit manipulated the nutrition of male fruit flies and observed a strong correlation between poor diet and poor survivorship among their offspring. The study was published Wednesday, Oct. 11, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

“We were really surprised,” Polak said. “In many species, the moms do a lot of the care. So we expect there to be an effect from maternal diet on offspring because of that strong link. But it was a real surprise to find a link between paternal diet and offspring.”

UC collaborated on the study with researchers from the University of Western Australia and the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre.

Nutritional geometry of paternal effects on embryo mortality

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1864/20171492

Well-established causal links exist between maternal nutritional deficits and embryo health and viability. By contrast, environmental effects operating through the father that could influence embryo mortality have seldom been examined. Yet, ejaculates can require non-trivial resource allocation, and seminal plasma components are increasingly recognized to exert wide-ranging effects on females and offspring, so paternal dietary effects on the embryo should be expected. We test for effects of varying levels of protein (P), carbohydrate (C) and caloric load in adult male diet on embryo mortality in Drosophila melanogaster. We demonstrate that macronutrient balance and caloric restriction exert significant effects, and that nutritional effects are more impactful when a prior mating has occurred. Once-mated males produced embryos with marginally elevated mortality under high-caloric densities and a 1 : 8 P : C ratio. In contrast, embryos produced by twice-mated males were significantly more likely to die under male caloric restriction, an outcome that may have resulted from shifts in ejaculate quality and/or epigenetic paternal effects. Body nutrient reserves were strongly and predictably altered by diet, and body condition, in turn, was negatively related to embryo mortality. Thus, sire nutritional history and resultant shifts in metabolic state predict embryo viability and post-fertilization fitness outcomes.

Two things are happening in India that controls parenting actions. 1) Increasing middle income group 2) Cheap toys dumping by China

On top of it, thanks to communication revolution (TV, Media, Mobile, Internet), majority are now connected to global world and hence there is continuous mimicry going on to ape the western world.

One such blind choice parents make is : Present walker to infant.

During infancy, kid has infinite learning assignments. Their uncontrolled energy is exploring world beyond womb. It is the time when mind is developing with this fresh new body.

We usually think our mind is in control and telling our body what to do. But there is a lot of scientific evidence that shows the chatter between mind and body goes two ways, and the body is an integral part of how we think.

For infants, it is body under the control of mother nature, shaping mind!

University of Chicago Professor Sian Beilock, a leading expert on the brain science behind human performance, believes the body-mind connection starts early.

“Movement matters with everyone, but it is especially important for babies and young children,” said Beilock. “Mobile kids hit cognitive milestones faster.” She said that simple steps like allowing babies to run around naked — when appropriate — can help them explore their worlds. Beilock said wearing diapers and using baby walkers can limit a baby’s ability to interact with the world and hinder the process of learning how to walk. The more quickly children learn how to walk and explore, the faster their cognitive development.

Beilock said wearing diapers and using baby walkers can limit a baby’s ability to interact with the world and hinder the process of learning how to walk.

Initial years of childhood is the time of play, and as mammals, we are actually designed to learn through play, which is how we gather information. Let your child enjoy care-free world of learning.

This is not limited infant age.

Incorporating physical activity into more subjects can help kids learn in school, according to Beilock.

“We can’t just keep students confined to their chairs — we have to get them up, out and moving,” Beilock said. “When the subjects are math or physics, getting students to actually physically experience some of the concepts they’re learning about changes how their brains process the information and can lead to better performance on a test.” Movement also helps explain the connection between music and math. Why do kids tend to excel in both? It’s because the brain areas controlling finger dexterity and number largely overlap. Beilock unpacks the latest research showing that when kids exercise their fingers through regular piano play, their grasp of numbers improves.

Exercise can aid mental health as well as academic achievement, according to Beilock. “The research shows that getting kids moving is important not only for their physical well-being, but for their mental well-being, too.” She said schools need to emphasize “the “4 Rs” — reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic and recess. Boys’ academic achievement may especially benefit from recess, she added. [1]

Now again back to topic of walkers.

In 2001, American Association of pediatrics published a statement on walkers. Here are some numbers

In 1999, an estimated 8800 children younger than 15 months were treated in hospital emergency departments in the United States for injuries associated with infant walkers.

Thirty-four infant walker-related deaths were reported from 1973 through 1998. The vast majority of injuries occur from falls down stairs, and head injuries are common.

Walkers do not help a child learn to walk; indeed, they can delay normal motor and mental development.

Because data indicate a considerable risk of major and minor injury and even death from the use of infant walkers, and because there is no clear benefit from their use, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a ban on the manufacture and sale of mobile infant walkers.

Please don’t act like a villain for your kid. Let it be in free-flow of life!

If you really wish to aid your kid about walking skills, below is the better option. It is designed to serve the real purpoe i.e. free flow learning.

Research

[1] Mind-body connection not a one-way street

New book shares science on how the body can influence the mind

How the Body Knows Its Mind provides many tips on how to use one’s body, actions or surroundings to stimulate the mind and to influence those around you. She offered a few suggestions to improve the body-mind connection:

Take active breaks from work or vexing problems to give your brain a chance to regroup and reboot. Physically walking away from the problem for a few minutes may help you solve it.

Your body’s posture and expressions are not just reflections of your mind—they can influence your mood. Stand tall to help give yourself confidence and to send a signal to those around you that you have brought your “A” game to the table. And be mindful of your facial expressions. Your brain uses your expressions as cues to feel emotions. Smiling can actually make you feel happier.

Practice in the real conditions under which you will have to perform—whether it’s public speaking, a test or an important match. It’s also good to practice in front of others so when all eyes are on you, it’s nothing new.

Write it out. Journaling can help you deal with the stress of a test or your worries in daily life. Physically downloading worries from your mind (by putting pen to paper) has positive performance outcomes and reducing that stress affects your health in good ways, too.

Spend time in nature as often as you can, and find time to meditate. New science shows that a walk in the woods rejuvenates our minds and improves our ability to pay attention and focus. Meditation for even a few minutes a day can help alleviate anxiety and chronic pain. It also can help with self-control that may be helpful for working to break bad habits, like smoking.

For a growing child, every moment is learning. Learn, forget, re-learn and master the life. To do this, they seek help from toys. Toys provide them artificial simulation opportunities.

Over the past century, toys have become the focus of a massive industry, the opening wedge for the commoditization of childhood, icons of cultural controversy, subjects of serious (and not-so-serious) scholarship, and sometimes even tools for psychological research.

To avoid anti-growth effects of toys, it is important to keep them simple. Since this is not the topic for this note, we will park it aside.

Most toys in India are dumped by China, made up of toxic plastic. Even branded toys. Here are some researches related to plastic toys.

Research

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in baby teethers

http://www.goethe-university-frankfurt.de/55655899/041

In laboratory tests, two out of ten teethers, plastic toys used to sooth babies’ teething ache, release endocrine disrupting chemicals. One product contains parabens, which are normally used as preservatives in cosmetics, while the second contains six so-far unidentified endocrine disruptors.

“Our study shows that plastic toys are a source of undesirable chemicals. Manufacturers, regulatory agencies and scientists should investigate the chemical exposure from plastic toys more thoroughly”, Wagner concludes from the study. The additives have only limited benefits for the quality of the product, but can represent a potential health issue. This is especially true for babies and infants, whose development is orchestrated by a delicately balanced hormonal control and who are more susceptible to chemicals exposures than adults.

Household Chemicals May Impair Thyroid in Young Girls

EXPOSURE TO PHTHALATES IS LINKED TO DEPRESSED FUNCTION IN THE “MASTER CONTROLLER” OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, POTENTIALLY EXPLAINING KNOWN PHTHALATE-RELATED COGNITIVE PROBLEMS

Early childhood exposures to specific phthalates were associated with depressed thyroid function in girls at age 3, according to scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Phthalates, a class of chemicals thought to disrupt the endocrine system, are widely used in consumer products from plastic toys to household building materials to shampoos.

Is there something up with stinky inflatable pool toys?

Inflatable toys and swimming aids, like bathing rings and arm bands, often have a distinctive smell which could indicate that they contain a range of potentially hazardous substances. Some of these compounds, which include carbonyl compounds, cyclohexanone, phenol and isophorone, might be critical when present in higher concentrations in children’s toys, say Christoph Wiedmer and Andrea Buettner, who are authors of a study in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC), which is published by Springer.

Lead author Wiedmer (Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany) and his team conducted tests using an inflatable beach ball, a pair of swimming armbands and two bathing rings they bought off the shelf from local stores and online suppliers in Germany. A small piece of material from each sample was analysed using a variety of material analysis techniques, including one that takes infrared measurements, and it was concluded that the inflatable objects were all made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The researchers then investigated the molecular make-up of the distinctive smells arising from the pool toys. They extracted detectable odours from each sample using solvent extraction and high vacuum distillation methods, and then identified the main odorants using a combination of sensory and common analytical approaches.

Between 32 and 46 odours were detected in each sample, of which up to thirteen were quite intense. The majority of these odorants were identified and among these were several fatty smelling mono- or di-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and their epoxidised derivatives, but also odouractive organic solvents such as cyclohexanone, isophorone, and phenol.

Depression or any mental disorder is hurdle for peaceful family and peaceful society. Junk food increases chances of chaos in family and in society. No wonder why there is rise in teens attempting suicides. No surprise for rising divorce cases. Nothing abnormal if there are new psychiatric clinics. That is what society deserves when food is either junk or processed.

Consumption of carbohydrates increases blood sugar levels to varying degrees, depending on the type of food ingested. The more highly refined the carbohydrate, the higher its score on the glycemic index (GI) scale. The GI scale, which goes from 0-100, measures the amount of sugar found in the blood after eating. Refined foods such as white bread, white rice, and soda trigger a hormonal response in the body to reduce blood sugar levels. This response also may cause or exacerbate mood changes, fatigue, and other symptoms of depression.

The investigators found that progressively higher dietary GI scores and consumption of added sugars and refined grains were associated with increased risk of new-onset depression in post-menopausal women. Greater consumption of dietary fiber, whole grains, vegetables, and non-juice fruits was associated with decreased risk. This suggests that dietary interventions could serve as treatments and preventive measures for depression. Further study is needed to examine the potential of this novel option for treatment and prevention and to see if similar results are found in the broader population.

Elders in family always tell that never ever disrespect pregnant mother and her wishes. Fulfill all of them unless you see them contraindicated (harmful and not good for specific month).

Here is a wonderful research showing how fetus in the womb drives mother’s health, moods and emotions. Child in womb in fact take care of mother’s health!! Protects her!!

Dramatic research has shown that during pregnancy, cells of the fetus often migrate through the placenta, taking up residence in many areas of the mother’s body, where their influence may benefit or undermine maternal health.

The presence of fetal cells in maternal tissue is known as fetal microchimerism. The term alludes to the chimeras of ancient Greek myth–composite creatures built from different animal parts, like the goat-lion-serpent depicted in an Etruscan bronze sculpture.

“Fetal cells can act as stem cells and develop into epithelial cells, specialized heart cells, liver cells and so forth. This shows that they are very dynamic and play a huge role in the maternal body. They can even migrate to the brain and differentiate into neurons,” Boddy says “We are all chimeras.”

Fetal cells may do more than simply migrate to maternal tissues. The authors suggest they can act as a sort of placenta outside the womb, redirecting essential assets from the maternal body to the developing fetus. Cells derived from the fetus–which can persist in maternal tissues for decades after a child is born–have been associated with both protection and increased susceptibility to a range of afflictions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Take care all would-be parents!! And never life under delusion that you actually have control over your life! We all, all lifeforms are connected and we are here to help each other!!

While fetal microchimerism is a common occurrence across placental mammals, (including humans), the effects of such cells on maternal health remain a topic of fierce debate in the biological community.

In research appearing in the advanced online edition of the journal Bioessays, Boddy and her colleagues review the available literature on fetal microchimerism and human health, applying an evolutionary framework to predict when fetal cells are inclined to act cooperatively to enhance maternal health and when their behavior is likely to be competitive, occasionally leading to adverse effects on the mother.

Fetal cells may do more than simply migrate to maternal tissues. The authors suggest they can act as a sort of placenta outside the womb, redirecting essential assets from the maternal body to the developing fetus. Cells derived from the fetus–which can persist in maternal tissues for decades after a child is born–have been associated with both protection and increased susceptibility to a range of afflictions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

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